Location — WDA HEADQUARTERS, LONDON
Time & Date — 4 AM, November 2, 1981
Sirius Black's POV
"Your questions have been answered. Now, you have to answer some of mine..."
Ookami sat on his chair after that, completely nonchalant about Sirius and his condition.
His hands lingered uselessly in the straps. He was exhausted by everything. His head throbbed in pain. The images of Harry, Lily & James continued to flash before his eyes, and during this entire time, Ookami stayed silent.
"What do you want to know?" he spat the question at Ookami.
Ookami's wolf mask stayed unchanged.
The silence stretched, making him squirm in his chair.
But before he could repeat his question, Ookami spoke in his monotonous voice. "I want to know Sirius Black," his eyes widened, "why one of the best hit-wizards of the British Auror Force was running on the streets of London, nearly blowing the Statute of Secrecy apart?"
"How do you know my name? And how do you—"
"I asked you a question and instead of answering it, you are counter-questioning me. That's some bad manners, Mr. Black."
Ookami's eyes narrowed behind the mask. The last of his patience had clearly run out.
"Let me tell you a story Mr. Black." He was caught off guard by the sudden change in conversation.
"Not so long ago, there was a group of four friends. It was said they were so good to each other, they could give their life for one another."
Ookami's voice stayed even, almost bored.
"Then, one of the friends got married to a beautiful classmate of theirs. Together, they built a new home, a new family, a new life. And, finally, they had a child."
His heartbeat quickened…
"Harry…"
His head snapped up in surprise, and he saw Ookami, still relaxed, as if it didn't matter to him.
"A war breaks out. The family is threatened, so they go into hiding and tell a friend about their hideout. But, all of it was in vain. On Halloween night, they were attacked."
"No..."
" James Potter, killed in his drawing room, blood covering the walls."
"Stop it."
" Lily Potter, killed in the nursery, near the crib of her 1-year-old child."
"Stop…stop…stop it."
"Harry Potter, killed so brutally that even his body wasn't found."
"Plea…please, no more…"
He broke down at Ookami's description of the night. But Ookami was not done with him.
"According to the Magical world, it was you who betrayed the family, Mr. Black."
His heart sank hearing Ookami's words,
'him… why would they think it was him?'
The last words of his abhorred father rang through his ears as an answer.
"YOU ARE A BLACK. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A BLACK, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO JOIN DUMBLEDORE'S CABAL, THEY WILL NEVER CONSIDER YOU AS THEIR OWN."
'But weren't you responsible for the idea to make the Rat secret keeper?' his inner voice asked, and for once since that night, he understood it was him.
He was the one who asked James to make Peter the secret keeper, merely to play a joke on Voldemort.
He was the one who left his friend's fate in the hands of the Rat.
'It wasn't me, Sirius. It was you …'
The guilt started to overwhelm him.
He began to hyperventilate. His body trembled. Sobs tore out of him, filling the silence of the room.
Suddenly, the straps were gone. Like a puppet without strings, he was about to fall face-first but was stopped by a steady hand.
As the hand touched him, a wave of unexpected calm and relief washed over him.
He looked up. He saw a Young woman wearing the same uniform as Ookami, guiding him back into the chair.
As he looked at her face, he saw the largest pair of eyes, a soft, pale purple hue, staring at him, filled with pity.
Once he was steady, she nodded in the direction of Ookami and the soft clicks of her heels left the room.
"So, now that you are back with us," Ookami leaned back in his chair, "shall we continue where we left off or do you need a minute?"
He didn't reply to him. Instead, his mind started spinning.
'If I am the one who is branded as a traitor then that means Rat is free right now.' The realisation felt like a cold bucket of water.
'Rat can target anyone right now and everyone would think it was me.'
'I need to get out of here. I need to tell someone about this....'
'Dumbledore! I have to tell Dumbledore about this.'
"Are you done with your internal monologue or should I come later?" The voice of Ookami, once again, broke through his thoughts.
He weighed his options. Ookami knew about him and Magic. He could deny everything of course. But it would not matter.
He needs people on his side.
Remus is currently in France and the entire Wizarding World thinks that he is the traitor. There was no other choice but to tell Ookami everything.
He took a deep breath and began, "I am not the—"
"You are not the traitor, I know that." Ookami, once again cut him off.
He was perplexed, "How did you know?"
A scoff came in response, "My title , Detective, is not for show, Mr. Black. Even a blind person could tell that there are many holes in the story." He tilted his head to one side, "I can help you Mr. Black. But first," his eyes stared into his soul, his skin felt the chills, "you have to tell me everything."
He gulped and started to narrate the night that destroyed him to Ookami...
Location — London Sewers Network
Time — 6 AM
Peter Pettigrew's POV
Cold, smelly sewage water chilled him to the bone and choked his nose with the stench of filth. He walked in almost complete darkness, with steel grates as the only source of a few rays of light.
His clothes were wet and covered with grime. His face stung from the scratches that he got when other rats attacked him in the sewers.
His legs trembled with exhaustion.
With a heavy splash, he collapsed into the knee-deep sewage… the stink surrounding him.
His lacerated finger, covered in a makeshift bandage, stung as it grazed the floor.
Completely spent from an entire day of running, he put his head on the wall and tried to take a little bit of rest.
'WHY DID YOU DO IT, YOU FUCKING RAT…'
The voice caused him to wake up violently. His breath quickened, and he felt like someone had put a stone on his chest.
'Sirius… Sirius is not here. I am safe… safe … at least for now.' He gulped air, trying to calm down his racing heart, and again closed his eyes & this time he finally drifted into sleep...…
…
...
...…
...
A flowery smell filled his nose, making him smile...
His face scrunched in confusion, 'Flowery smell... no…. It can't be!'
He opened his eyes & found himself in front of Godric's Hollow.
Confusion hit him first. He was inside the sewers just now, how did he reach here?
As he was pondering over the question, he heard a childish giggle coming from the house. A giggle that he could recognise even in his sleep ... Harry's.
'But, isn't Harry dead?'
He approached the house and before he could reach for the handle, the gate opened itself.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He wanted to back off, but something inside the house was calling him.
As he moved into the house, the childish giggle stopped. He felt a sense of dread creeping up his spine.
He continued to what he knew was the drawing-room.
Just as he was about to enter the room, a ball rolled up to him. He picked up the ball and saw a rat carved on it.
His breath hitched. It was the same ball that he bought for Harry a few months ago.
His body started to tremble and the ball dropped from his hand.
Before he could balance himself, the floor shifted beneath him, and he found himself in Harry's nursery.
He felt someone's eyes creeping upon him. Slowly, he turned, until his eyes landed on the crib...Harry's crib.
He approached it, and, saw Harry, playing with a ball...the same ball that he dropped down in the drawing-room.
He started to move back slowly towards the exit, but as he turned, he came face to face with a floating Harry. It caused his body to freeze.
Harry opened his eyes, and he realised with horror that one of Harry's eyes was green and the other one was brown…James's brown.
"Why did you betray us, Peter?" Lily's voice came out of Harry's mouth.
He fell backwards, and he tried to drag himself backwards.
"Weren't we friends, Wormtail?" This time the voice was of James.
Tears began to form in his eyes at the accusing tone of his friend.
But it was the last voice that broke him… the voice of his supposed nephew… Harry.
"Unca.. unca…Pete… why did you let me die?"
"Please… please… no more…" he began to sob uncontrollably at Harry's innocent voice.
"I have to do it… I had no other choice. Dark lord would have killed me." He tried to explain himself.
"So, you sold my family like a piece of meat to Voldemort." The anger in Lily's voice made him flinch.
"No... no, I didn't. I only wan—"
"Shut up, Wormtail." James voice cut off his explanation.
"You're a selfish and a cowardly man. You don't care for anyone other thAN YOURSELF." His voice rose in volume until harry's baby face was right in front of him.
Harry looked into his eyes, and, in a cold voice, said, "You're just a Death Eater."
James's final words landed like a blow to his already damaged psyche.
"You're wrong… I'm not evil…. You're… wrong." He moved his face away from Harry's and continued to mutter his apologies, as if it was going to change anything.
"Wormtail.."
He heard a voice that had become a nightmare for him from yesterday.
He turned around and found himself staring at two black orbs, raging, as once again Harry's tiny body took the air.
Before he could understand what was happening, Harry came flying and wrapped his hand around his neck and screamed in Sirius's voice,
"WHY DID YOU DO IT, YOU FUCKING RAT."
He began to choke as the hands continued to tighten around his neck.
"I am going to kill you Rat…"
He tried to struggle but his hands wouldn't move.
"NOOO—" His eyes flew open, and he found himself back in the sewers.
He stood up from the place he was sitting, and patted himself to be sure that he wasn't harmed.
"It was a dream…. It was a dream." He let out a sigh of relief.
Deciding not to take a nap until he was out of these sewers, he started to walk frantically, to find a way out.
After walking a few steps, he heard something… footsteps!
Inside the sewer lines!
'It means that there must be a way out.' He realised, a wave of relief washing over him.
But before he could do anything, A beam of light stabbed into his eyes, causing him to flinch.
"What the hell are you doing here, mate?" An old voice echoed through the sewers as the flashlight was removed from his face.
Surprised by the sudden voice, he quickly brandished his wand and fired a Confundus at the man—causing the man to stagger. He tried to fight the confusion but Peter was not about to give in, so he fired another, hurried Confundus, and this time, the man finally slumped to the floor of the sewers with a heavy splash.
Peter approached his confounded target, and finally got a good look at him.
A man in his mid-fifties was lying down in the tunnel, the beam of his headlamp cutting through the gloom. He wore dark navy overalls that had seen years of hard use, the fabric stained and slightly stiff. Thick black rubber waders rose to his thighs, splashed with filth, and heavy gloves covered his hands. A scuffed plastic helmet sat on his greying hair, a lamp clipped to the front.
He was half-submerged in the sewage with a completely empty face.
Peter smiled and asked a question that he really wanted the answer to, "Where is the exit? Take me there."
The man, in his confounded state, started to walk toward the exit, followed by Peter.
As the man finally reached the place, Peter took the rusted stairs and finally left the sewers — and the nightmare— behind him.
What he failed to notice was a rapidly flickering red light that had fallen from his clothes...
Location — H.O.P.E. [Humanitarian Operations & Protective Efforts]
Time — 9 AM
Petunia's POV
The soft snoring of Harry was filling the silence in her car. Her car was currently parked in front of H.O.P.E. Orphanage, and now she was second-guessing her decision.
'He is the last part of my sister. How can I just throw him away?' Her emotional side didn't want her to give up Harry.
Her eyes teared up at the memories of her departed sister. She looked at Harry, who had a peaceful smile on his sleeping face, unknown to the internal struggle that she was experiencing.
But then, another face flashed in her mind, the face of Dudley. Her family was unable to provide for two children at the same time.
'You are not throwing him away. You are just thinking about him and his future as well as yours. It's not wrong to do so.' Her logical side echoed in her mind. The only way both she and Harry could have a good life, was to send him to a good Orphanage and Adoption center.
That's why, she chose H.O.P.E.
H.O.P.E. was an international organization known for its philanthropic work.
She hardened her heart, grabbed Harry's crib, and left the car. She approached the gates of H.O.P.E., where she saw 2 guards with WDA HOUNDS written on their jackets. One of them had an animalistic appearance, about 7 feet tall, with bull-like horns protruding from his hair. The other one was smaller, with no visible indication that he was different from normal humans. Or maybe, he wasn't. WDA had normal humans among their ranks.
She normally would have been scared of these people, but today, she actually felt relieved.
The Bull guard looked at her, and then at the crib. His intimidating aura softened after seeing the child. He put his hand on one of his ears, and then softly murmured something. When he removed his hand, she saw a blinking blue light coming from a little bulky-looking thing on his ear.
The guard then motioned for her to go inside, and she moved in automatically.
As she entered the building, she came across an old lady at the receptionist desk. There was a young man also standing right next to the desk and was talking to the Receptionist.
They both stopped once they saw her. The Old lady quickly took out some forms and gave them to her.
Whatever else the receptionist or the man nearby her said, went over her head.
She filled out all the documents that they gave her. But when they finally asked her to hand over the crib, she jolted back into consciousness.
She bent down in front of Harry's crib, and Harry was somehow awakened. Seeing his green eyes once again reminded her of Lily. Tears sprang from her eyes.
A hand came on her shoulder, causing her to furiously rub her tears away. She looked back, and found the old receptionist looking at her with concern.
The man had also moved forward, took a deep breath, and with a smile on his face said, "You don't have to worry, Mam. I promise from H.O.P.E.'s side as well as mine that He will be adopted by the best family that we could find."
His words were so genuine that her heart felt strengthened. She picked herself up, and spoke a soft thanks.
Then with a final look at Harry, she left the H.O.P.E.
The final thoughts in her mind were, 'I'm sorry, Lily...'